Integrated Model of Media Enjoyment

This entry offers an introduction to the model of complex entertainment experiences and some of its research applications, as well as later developments and future directions for research on entertainment. The model describes enjoyment as the main experience of exposure to entertainment media and provides an integrated view of entertainment. Enjoyment is conceptualized as a complex and multifaceted experience that includes physiological, affective, and cognitive dimensions. With this theoretical contribution, Vorderer and colleagues aimed to improve the understanding of entertainment premises. Their main assumption is that an interplay between user characteristics, motives, and the particular media determines enjoyment. The model also lists specific effects of entertainment (e.g., learning) that are assumed to influence the prerequisites of and motives for future entertainment experiences.